Most people who suffer from heartburn and acid reflux are probably taking some form of prescribed or over the counter heartburn medication. If you are one of them, have you ever wondered how safe the different forms of heartburn medication really are?
The medical profession and pharmaceutical industry tell us that heartburn cannot be cured and you need to take some form of medication to keep your condition under control. But is this true? Actually no.
So why are we misled into thinking that we need this medication? There are two basic reasons for this.
i) Firstly conventional heartburn medication only treats the symptoms of heartburn and not the factors that cause the acid reflux which produces these symptoms.
ii) Secondly, heartburn medication is a huge money spinner for the pharmaceutical companies, so what incentive is there to develop a cure for the condition, which would then lose them a fortune in lost sales of traditional products?
There are three main groups of heartburn medication, each providing heartburn relief in a different way. Lets briefly consider what they actually do.
a) antacids - these are the normal course of treatment for those who suffer mild heartburn. They bring rapid relief by neutralising the stomach acid that causes the problem.
b) H2 Blockers - these act by blocking the body's signal to the stomach to produce stomach acid, thus reducing its production.
c) Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI) - these act directly on the cells in the stomach that produce the acid, stopping its production.
So, what are the problems that these products can cause?
• Well, all three control the amount or strength of the acid that is produced in the stomach, which of course gives the relief that so badly needed. However, concentrated stomach acid is an essential requirement for the breakdown and subsequent digestion of food. They also have a controlling effect on bacteria that inhabit the digestive system. So continually reducing its production must have an adverse effect on nutrition and health in general.
• Then there is the very real concern about chemicals and drugs in conventional medication, which we hear about regularly in the media. There is always the possibility of suffering the adverse, potentially harmful side effects that these products are known to produce.
• Antacids contain such chemicals as calcium, magnesium and aluminium. It is known that these can cause constipation and diarrhoea and more seriously, a build up of potentially dangerous toxins.
• H2 Blockers and PPI's are both drug based, so the potential for experiencing side effects is always present. They are also only supposed to be taken for a certain amount of time, so their effect is only temporary. Furthermore, once you stop taking them, acid production goes into "overdrive", which can be extremely problematic.
So what alternatives do we have?
Fortunately you have a wide range of totally natural, treatments and remedies for heartburn that you can try, that do not cause any adverse side effects. Also, they target the actual causes of heartburn and stimulate the body's own natural defences to combat them. Consequently, you have a much more effective and safer alternative to the heartburn medication that you are told that you need.
Isn't this worth investigating?
The medical profession and pharmaceutical industry tell us that heartburn cannot be cured and you need to take some form of medication to keep your condition under control. But is this true? Actually no.
So why are we misled into thinking that we need this medication? There are two basic reasons for this.
i) Firstly conventional heartburn medication only treats the symptoms of heartburn and not the factors that cause the acid reflux which produces these symptoms.
ii) Secondly, heartburn medication is a huge money spinner for the pharmaceutical companies, so what incentive is there to develop a cure for the condition, which would then lose them a fortune in lost sales of traditional products?
There are three main groups of heartburn medication, each providing heartburn relief in a different way. Lets briefly consider what they actually do.
a) antacids - these are the normal course of treatment for those who suffer mild heartburn. They bring rapid relief by neutralising the stomach acid that causes the problem.
b) H2 Blockers - these act by blocking the body's signal to the stomach to produce stomach acid, thus reducing its production.
c) Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI) - these act directly on the cells in the stomach that produce the acid, stopping its production.
So, what are the problems that these products can cause?
• Well, all three control the amount or strength of the acid that is produced in the stomach, which of course gives the relief that so badly needed. However, concentrated stomach acid is an essential requirement for the breakdown and subsequent digestion of food. They also have a controlling effect on bacteria that inhabit the digestive system. So continually reducing its production must have an adverse effect on nutrition and health in general.
• Then there is the very real concern about chemicals and drugs in conventional medication, which we hear about regularly in the media. There is always the possibility of suffering the adverse, potentially harmful side effects that these products are known to produce.
• Antacids contain such chemicals as calcium, magnesium and aluminium. It is known that these can cause constipation and diarrhoea and more seriously, a build up of potentially dangerous toxins.
• H2 Blockers and PPI's are both drug based, so the potential for experiencing side effects is always present. They are also only supposed to be taken for a certain amount of time, so their effect is only temporary. Furthermore, once you stop taking them, acid production goes into "overdrive", which can be extremely problematic.
So what alternatives do we have?
Fortunately you have a wide range of totally natural, treatments and remedies for heartburn that you can try, that do not cause any adverse side effects. Also, they target the actual causes of heartburn and stimulate the body's own natural defences to combat them. Consequently, you have a much more effective and safer alternative to the heartburn medication that you are told that you need.
Isn't this worth investigating?
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